


hello, little girl/hark and hush

by biscuits_and_tea



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: ...medium height maxwell, ASL, Gen, I should stop, Implied Relationships, Pre-Canon, SI-5, actually there are too many similes because i can't describe things, and it shows, based on ep 47 but spoilers to the end, because I love her, blasting powder doesn't work on child locks, but if i don't publish it i'll never revise, doug eiffel's family, eiffel's mother, i couldn't resist a duck simile, i know no sign language, im not entirely happy with this, jacobi turns up more than he was supposed to, kepler sucks, kids can see through bullshit, maxwell-centric, mostly just for banter, okay im stopping now, small jacobi, tall kepler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 10:46:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14400534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biscuits_and_tea/pseuds/biscuits_and_tea
Summary: About six months before they join the Hephaestus crew, Kepler and Maxwell meet Anne Garcia and her grandmother to offer their condolences about the death of Doug Eiffel. Jacobi has to wait in the car. Also: what working for Goddard Futuristics is REALLY like.





	hello, little girl/hark and hush

**Author's Note:**

> "You don't know what working for Goddard Futuristics is really like... Hell, just before I came up here, Mr. Cutter introduced me to the cutest little girl. Now, what was her name? Allison? Angela? … Anne... It’d be a real shame if something made that little girl sad..."  
> \- Colonel Kepler, Into the Depths

“So, what’s the deal? We drive up there, meet the family, give our condolences and-“

“I would have to say not quite, Mr. Jacobi. The situation is a little more…  _ complicated _ than that.”

Jacobi frowns, not that Maxwell can see - she can hear it in the tone of his voice when he responds: “Complicated… how?”

“Complicated... by the fact that the man isn’t dead... and his family despise him.”

“Ah.”

There’s silence in the car again, but it’s a familiar one rather than awkward. Maxwell finally clears her throat to pitch in from the back seat. “The little girl is the key then, sir?”

“The little girl is leverage,” Kepler says evenly. “Goddard Futuristics want to keep her father in line. And as trivial as you may think our visit, these orders come right from the top, so you can begin to take it seriously any time you like.”

Maxwell grimaces at this, thinking, not for the first time,  _ thank God I’ve got nobody to be put in the firing line.  _ Jacobi voices her thought, as he does so often it’s uncanny: “Can’t be fun to have Mr. Cutter on your back.”

“No, I can’t imagine it is.”

“Not that you would know what that’s like, right, sir?” He looks pointedly at the small fingertip bruises on the Colonel’s neck Maxwell had failed to notice until right now, almost reaching his hand out to touch them but losing the nerve and turning the gesture into a stretch instead.

“We’re here!” Kepler declares too brightly, pulling up in front of a little run-down home on the edge of suburbia. “Jacobi, I want you to stay here and keep watch in case we need to call in the cavalry. Not that I can imagine that will be necessary. Maxwell, you talk to the little girl. I’ll talk to the grandmother.”

“With all due respect, sir, why do I have to wait in the car?”

Colonel Kepler climbs out of the driving seat - always a tricky extraction due to his height. “Because you’ve pissed me off and those are your ord-”

Maxwell interrupts as she walks round to meet them: “Because you’re about as charming as a mangy dog?”

Jacobi makes a face at her and puts his feet up on the dashboard, the Colonel’s glare bouncing off him like water off a duck’s back. “I’ll have you know I’m very charming. I even have more than two human relationships, unlike some people I could mention.”

“You better make sure the A/C is on, sir. He might overheat in the sun and won’t be able to manage the child locks with his paws.”

“How dare you! I’m excellent at opening child-locked doors! Opening doors is eighty percent of my job description!”

“The normal way or only with blasting powder and enough fireworks to-”

Kepler slams the car door shut, and the other two jump. “How about we focus on the mission before the two of you find yourselves facing disciplinary action in Cutter’s office?”

“... _ nobody  _ here would want  _ that _ now, would they, sir…” Jacobi can’t resist teasing him further, though his voice is muffled by the glass. They all know he’ll get far worse than some bruises for that later in Kepler’s office, but it’s worth it to turn the Colonel’s face that shade of red once in a while.

* * *

The paint on the door is weathered from red to peeling pink. When Maxwell presses in the bell, a light flashes on in the hallway.

With the shudder of a bolt, it’s open. The little girl in the doorway has a huge bow in her hair and is genuinely one of the cutest kids both Kepler and Maxwell have ever seen. She smiles at them, and they smile back. It’s not often an SI-5 agent gets that kind of reaction from a target, and it’s almost unnerving.

“Hi there,” Maxwell crouches so that she’s eye to eye with Anne. “My name is-“

She stops. Anne is shaking her head, touching her ears and-

Great. Well, no thanks for skipping that part of the briefing, Kepler, but Maxwell prides herself on her skill with languages for a reason. It’s suddenly obvious why she was chosen for this over Jacobi.

_ Oh, sorry. I know ASL. _

_ You do?!  _ Anne begins to sign quickly, and Maxwell holds up a hand.

_ Not much. A little. I might get things wrong, so tell me if I do. My name is Dr Alana Maxwell. _

_ My name is Anne Garcia. You’re a bit young to be a doctor. _

_ Yes. You’re a cheeky kid. _

Meanwhile, the old lady has appeared at the door. Her face is frosty, but it melts at the mention of her son’s name into hundreds of questions,  _ whys, whens, hows… _ Kepler escorts her to her own sitting room, taking control of the situation in a way only someone like him can.

Suddenly, Maxwell and the kid are alone in the front hall.

_ Why are you here? Who’s that? _

_ That’s my boss. We’re here to talk about your dad. _

_ My dad died in outer space. Gramma heard on the phone, says he’s looking down on me from the stars. But Mom says he died in prison where he belongs. What happened to my dad? _

How does she even begin to answer that? With the limited details Kepler gave her about the mission, and the language barrier, and the fact that Anne is... just a kid.

_ I’m… not supposed to tell you. But can you keep a secret? _

_ Yes. I never run my mouth. _

Despite herself, Maxwell laughs, and the kid does too.

_ He is in space, and he’s still alive. We’re going on a special mission to bring him home. _

Anne’s grin gets wider.  _ Really? _

Maxwell crosses her heart even though she’s lying.  _ Really. _

_ Are you an astronaut too? _

“Uhh…”  _ Show me that sign again, I don’t know it. _

_ Astronaut. Space person. _

_ Cool! Like-  _ Maxwell attempts to imitate it, and Anne rolls her eyes impatiently. 

_ No! Like this. Astronaut. Astronaut. I learnt it for my dad. _

_ Okay, okay, I’ve got it. Astronaut. I’ll remember that. Anyway, I’m not an astronaut - I make robots. _

Anne raises an eyebrow. Maxwell finds herself bringing her work phone out of her back pocket, scrolling through photographs of highly confidential battle drones and AI designs to a bright-eyed eight-year-old who lives in a parentless dump in the middle of nowhere-

Who reminds her way too much of herself.

Suddenly she’s telling stories - watered down, granted, due to her dodgy sign language and the murderous nature of some of her experiences - to this kid that she’s never told anyone: stories of missions gone wrong; of saving Jacobi from sticky situations; of a company where only he has her back and every day at work someone’s out to get you; what it’s like to break out of a building just before it starts to burn...

_ And my daddy… has a job like that? _

_ Maybe. You mustn’t tell your grandma or mom this, Anne. _

_ I told you I wouldn’t!  _ She reaches out her little finger to pinky swear.

Maxwell takes it.

At that point, Kepler comes out of the sitting room, trailing the old lady who looks confused but happy in spite of her tears. “I...I’m just glad to know he made something of himself in the end.”

“So are we, Ma’am. That’s what Goddard Futuristics is all about - offering second chances; excusing people’s mistakes.” He puts his hand on Anne’s head and smiles like a shark. For the first time, the child looks uncomfortable.

“What a sweet little girl! Would we be okay to take a picture?” Before the old lady can answer, Kepler has his phone out, snapping shots, the kid looking to Maxwell for help and trying to wriggle away. “Thank you so much for your time, Mrs. Eiffel. The company will be in touch accordingly regarding the… reparations. Have a wonderful day.”

He turns on his heel. This is where Maxwell follows, has followed, will always follow. But she hesitates a second to wave.

“Bye!” Anne calls after them out loud for the first time, her grandmother pulling her inside.

Kepler snaps his fingers, and she feels the colour rise to her cheeks. “Maxwell. Let’s go.”

He won’t ask again. 

They walk back to the car in a silence that is suddenly strained.

* * *

It’s six months later and the mission is all but forgotten when Maxwell meets Doug Eiffel and doesn’t put the pieces together, too focussed on Hera and the task at hand for everything to click.

It’s a year on when Kepler finds the photograph and taunts Eiffel with it, everything still going to plan, keeping his focus on the big picture.

It’s two years until Jacobi is sitting in a car alone once more, waiting for the grubby door to re-open, screwing up his eyes until he can pretend that instead of Minkowski and Eiffel, Kepler and Maxwell are coming back out again.

And Anne will never explain to her father why she isn't surprised to see him.

**Author's Note:**

> i hate kepler i hate that he calls anne a mistake kepler ssuuuuucccks. anyway leave kudos please if you enjoyed i desperately need validation :))


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